Betrayal's String and Love's Salvation
by wordsonpages
Summary: "It was ironic really. Almost comically so that even in all of the darkness that had just unfolded she managed to show up shrouded in light. Even when she was attributing to the cause of his gut wrenching pain, she was the solace he desperately needed"- Betty searches for Jughead through the night [post 1x11]


**A/N: Hey Lovelies!**

 **THAT EPISODE OH MY LORD JUST WOW!**

 **So fist of all, this is my take on Betty going after Jughead. I have posted it as a stand alone, rather than in my Perfect Enigma series due to the length. I will probably posting more stand alones from here on out to so keep an eye out for that. Secondly, I have been working on some original stuff and was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading it and where the best place to post that would be?**

 **Thirdly, thanks again to everyone who has been reading and supporting my other works! Quick shoutout to jandjsalmon, Gellsbells, Nicole, Patricia and Forasecondtherewethoughtwedwon for lovely words and all their support!**

 **Anyway Enjoy x**

* * *

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. The world was tilting off its axis and her state of mind was spiralling with it as her heart plummeted.

The only conscious thought she could properly derive from her muddled brain was "NO!"

Because this couldn't be true. It couldn't be real. FP Jones was many things, but he was not a killer. He gave his son his word and he had trusted that. And Betty trusted Jughead- inherently so. More than that, she _knew_ in her heart that they were wrong. She knew it because every ounce of her being had believed her boyfriend when he told her his dad's denial was truthful and she believed in his judgement even now when everyone was literally telling her that he had erred in such judgement.

But as her head stopped spinning the ache in her chest became more pronounced. It was familiar yet foreign all at once. Like a sensation she recognised but was amplified beyond any magnitude she had felt before.

It was heart break.

The realisation hit her like a truck, knocking the air out of her lungs as she identified the ripping, burning, shattering, aching pain as the organ in her chest was literally breaking for the beanie wearing distraught, broken boy before her eyes.

She felt a tear slide down her cheek as the feeling overwhelmed her and the cracks in her heart allowed chills to seep through and flood her blood stream as she took in Jughead before her. The colour had drained from his face as anguish and pain shone through his eyes, causing their blue to storm with darkness.

She ached for him, her being so attuned to his own. Her hands itched to reach out to him, but before she could flinch, before her next breath he had bolted.

Her legs started moving on their own accord, desperately trying to catch Jughead. She was vaguely aware of commotion behind her, but no coherent sentences were registered. Her gate was slightly impeded by her heels but she paid no mind. She felt who she presumed to be Veronica and Archie flanking her movements but they too faded into the background. Her sole thought was him. Her vision tunnelled on his retreating form as she finally managed to break through the doors of the school behind him.

"Jughead!" the torn cry left her lips, desperate and sounding nothing like her usual voice. He was not deterred, dark figure falling further away from her and into the dead of the night.

She halted on the steps, her breath still lodged in her throat and the tears that had been threatening to fall crystallised in the icy night air. Watching him go was like watching her heart run away from her, leaving a gaping hole in her chest, emptiness had settled and it was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.

It was only exacerbated though by the thought of how much worse he was feeling. Not only did Jughead think everyone he trusted had betrayed him, he thought _she_ had betrayed him. And his father was now being labelled a murder. This was too much. Darkness started to seep back into her mind and cloud her thoughts, bogging her down. She wanted to run, to chase him. She needed to explain and he needed _her_.

"Betty," Archie's hand shot out to grab her arm anchoring her to the awful reality that had begun to unfold in the nostalgic halls of Riverdale High. Noise flooded back into her senses as people shuffled frantically through the hall. The soft echo of music wafted into the atmosphere from the gym and the blonde felt her heart give way a little more at the thought that she and Jughead should've been in there right now, holding each other close.

"What?" she ground out, making no effort to disguise the anger in her voice, yanking her arm free from his grasp. Archie visibly recoiled from her, clearly stunned by the venom evident in her demeanour. He ran a hand through his hair and awkwardly fumbled for words. The part of Betty that had known Archie practically their whole lives' was able to recognise his own conflict in that moment, his own sense of loss and pain, his own guilt and damage and confusion. But the greater part of her, the part that was devoted to their other childhood best friend and her now love was much less empathetic. This part of her was angry and wounded and scared and was being tainted by a greater darkness she couldn't care to reign in right now.

"We didn't mean to-"Archie tried again before she cut him off,

"Don't. I don't want to hear it," she spat, dropping her pleasant girl next door persona in favour of her darker, scorned self.

"But-"Veronica was trying now, attempting to make her see reason that did not exist.

"I said don't. You two have caused enough damage and I can't even look at you right now," Betty waited a moment as if daring the pair to challenge her. They didn't.

"Elizabeth!" Her mother's voice rang through the hallway followed by the click of heels as she approached. Betty took a deep breath, closing her eyes to gather her strength before turning to face the woman whom had co-terrorised her night.

"Mum?" the typically polite girl laced her tone with just the right amount of testiness to show she was a force to be reckoned with while still maintaining the civil exterior her mother would accept.

"We're leaving."

"No! I need to find-"her green eyes widened in panic. She couldn't go home. Going home was abandonment. She couldn't go home while Jughead was out there trying to process his pain and grief.

"I said we're leaving." Something in Alice's Cooper's tone shut her up. It was strong willed and enforcing yet tinged with a hint of something pleading. It was unable to be denied or refused and Betty found herself resigning to the pull despite every fibre of her being rearing in protest. She wouldn't give up her fight for him, but she could postpone it to ensure it was actionable.

* * *

Fleeing back into the night did nothing to ease Betty's anxiety. Although she had become somewhat calmer between the scene at the school and her confrontation with her mother in her room, her cool headedness was beginning to run away from her again. As her feet began to carry her down the pavement the feeling of worry consumed her chest again. The blonde haired Watson doing everything she could to align her thoughts and create a list of places she knew her battered boyfriend could possibly be. That task was easy enough though and she quickly felt the panic seeping back in; the impatience to see him, the ache to hold him, the complete lack of control.

As she trekked to Pop's Betty pulled her pashmina tighter around her shoulders. She paid no mind to the cold but she needed to give her hands something to do. Since she had revealed her dark secret to Jughead he had made a point of holding her hands and keeping them entertained whenever she felt the world begin to crash down around her, stopping her from hurting herself. The thought brought a sombre smile to her face as the full force of what she had told her mother hit her once again. She _loved_ him. She was in love with him.

It was a revelation that had not shocked her as it slipped from her mouth. She hadn't thought about it before saying it, the words just spilled from her lips as though it was the most natural affirmation in the world. And she supposed it was. There was no big reveal, no contemplation of how to tell him, they had just appeared and they fit so perfectly on her mouth. She loved him. He had crept his way into her heart and overtaken the space so wholly and so beautifully. The way he had made her feel, the way they had supported and cherished each other, faced the cruelty of the world together had become the greatest entity in her life, the one thing she could not lose. It was love and only now, only tonight had they both understood such a thing. She loved him and she needed to tell him. She loved him and she needed to be there for him.

Suddenly the Neon lights of Pop's were illuminating her path and Betty tried not to buy into the flicker of hope that ignited deep within her soul. Her pace quickened as she carefully navigated the icy steps and pulled open the door. The familiar chime of the Chock Lit Shoppe did nothing to ease her eradicate heart beat and constricted lungs as she found the place void of the enigmatic boy with the peculiar name she was hoping to find. The little flicker was immediately extinguished and her throat felt dry.

"Pop! Jughead hasn't been by at all has he?" her voice was soft but firm as if speaking too loud would diminish all chances of such an occurrence being true.

The older man gave her an empathetic shake of the head, "No, you're not the only one who's come in looking for him though," he mentioned, angling his head in the direction of a booth behind her.

Betty turned in the direction of the booths, eyes widening in disbelief as she took in the pair who had been instrumental in the destructive tone of the evening, sitting on either side of a plate of fries.

They rushed in her direction as she squared her shoulders'. Taking careful steps toward them Betty did nothing to hide her anger, but ensured she showed no weakness.

"Betty thank goodness!" Veronica exclaimed as they closed in on her space.

"We were gonna call you," Archie rapidly chimed in. Call her? They had the nerve to be relieved she had stumbled upon them? Betty was incredulous. She couldn't comprehend their rationale, believing she actually wanted to engage with either of them in that moment, that they were unable to understand the level of damage they had caused, the extent of their betrayal. And what was worse they seemed more concerned with speaking to her than with the betrayal they had inflicted upon Jughead.

"I'm not talking to you," she managed to get out, "either of you- ever again," her frustration she grew with each word, eyes darkening with distain as the sickness bubbled in her stomach.

"It's about Jughead." The red head deadpanned. That caught her attention. Confusion and concern became clear on her face she was sure, as her eyes gave away her pain. Her shoulders rose and fell visibly as she steadied herself. She wasn't sure if Archie knew his name was her weakness, if he knew that matters concerning her boyfriend were her Achilles heel, manipulating her emotions and managing to freeze her in place, or whether he just knew it would get her attention; she thinks it's the latter, the power Jughead had over her wasn't common knowledge, in fact she didn't even know if the boy himself was aware of his effect on her.

Veronica pressed on, the raven haired beauty sensing her friend's compliance for the moment.

"Kevin called me. And he said his dad found a gun; the gun that killed Jason. In a lock box in FP's closet," she rushed out.

"But Betty we searched FP's trailer," Archie took over the explanation, gently verbalising the words as if not to set her off.

"We looked through that closet,"

"And there was no lock box."

They were looking at her. Two sets of brown eyes imploring her for a reaction, for comprehension. She understood. She was comprehending the words just fine. But once again everything was spinning out of control. Once again she felt her breath become uneven and shallow, her eyes widening at the implication and her thoughts unable to be deciphered.

"Someone put it there after we left. He's being framed."

Framed. Her weight fell to one leg as she barely managed to keep herself upright. She couldn't process this information. It was good and bad all at once. It was a relief and a monumental concern. Immediately her mind strayed to Jughead. How defeated he had looked when they were told about the arrest, how she was sure he was feeling scorned and hopeless and betrayed. How he was surely questioning everything he had known and his own judgement right now, for no reason. Because someone out there wanted his dad behind bars and had achieved that, despite his innocence. Her heart plummeted in her chest and all she could emit from her mouth was a small sound somewhere between a sob and sigh.

Veronica reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but Betty quickly avoided the touch as though she would be burned by it. She shook her head furiously, blonde strands falling out of order and disobeying the carefully placed clips.

"He… I… Are you sure?" she eventually breathed, eyes darting between the two of them sceptically.

"Positive."

Sighing she fisted the fabric of her pashmina once again, closing her eyes for a second before re-examining the duo before her with a newly placed determination.

"Okay you two need to go to the Sheriff right now and tell him everything. I don't care how it makes you look, you need to go. You owe this to Jughead."

Archie nodded solemnly, while Veronica opened her mouth as if to say something before shutting it obviously thinking better of her words. Betty fixed them with another harsh look before turning back to the door.

"B wait-"

"What Veronica?" she spat, the rush of anger coming back in full force now. The New Yorker was not deterred though, taking a tentative step forward before speaking again.

"We're really sorry."

"You're sorry?" Betty almost laughed, turning fully to face them now and letting the rage empower her rather than consume her. They both nodded again.

"Yeah Betty, we didn't mean to get you guys in a fight we were-"

"What Archie? You were just trying to help?" again with the nodding. They were starting to look like a set of bobble heads and it only served to further infuriate her. She felt the darkness seep through and her next words even tasted venomous on her tongue.

"Well you didn't. You betrayed your best friend, the one who never sold you out or stopped trying to support you even when you ditched him all summer, and even when you were having an illicit affair with your music teacher. You went behind his back even after he told you his Dad was getting back on track. And you!" she rounded on Veronica now, the same poisonous brand engrained in her dictation.

"You conspired with my mother even after I told you that I trusted Jughead's word and didn't want to insult him. You were so set on finding your own truth you didn't care about incriminating someone else's family." They both had the decency to at least look ashamed, heads dropping and feet shuffling.

"But that's not even the worst part. No the worst part is that I trusted both of you which only ended up hurting Jughead more. I should have told him about what you were up to as soon as I worked it out but I didn't and that's on me, but because of your stupid, reckless decisions he thinks I don't trust him, he thinks _I_ betrayed him. When all I wanted to do was let my boyfriend have one happy night, I just wanted to protect him. And now he's god knows where, alone and hurting and feeling like he misplaced his trust in all of us. And it's killing me. It's literally tearing me apart. Because he was going to give up his family for _me_. And I ruined it I let him down, because I was foolish enough to see the good in you two and my mother." She let out an audible exhale, panting with exertion and eyes wild as she finished her speech.

Archie and Veronica were apparently speechless now and a prolonged silence dragged on punctuating Betty's words. Taking a deep breath she regained her composure.

"Go to the Sheriff and tell him what you know, meanwhile I'm going to go and find my boyfriend and tell him that I love him and that I believe him and beg for his forgiveness."

* * *

It was 1am when she reached the Jones' trailer. Shades of violet bled into the ebony sky void of stars, and the street lights reflected in the snow. The park was quiet as she carefully approached the door with bated breath. The flicker of hope settling within her once again, not deterred by the previous disappointments at other locations.

The door was unlocked and she crossed the threshold with caution, trying to make as little noise as possible as not to startle the boy she hoped she would find inside. She squinted through the darkness trying in vain to make out the silhouette of the boy she was quickly beginning to work out was not here. The knot in her stomach coiled tighter and the pressure in chest got heavier.

"Juggie," she whispered in the darkness, a last effort to ensure he wasn't hiding somewhere in the darkness. Betty waited a moment ears pricked and alert trying to make out any noise, any shuffle, or shift of weight that might give away his presence.

Nothing.

She sighed, moving further into the space, her fingers grazed the walls, blindly searching for the light switch. She found it after a few moments and waited as the old globe flickered a few times before casting a soft glow on the old room. She gasped upon the sight now fully visible to her eyes.

Furniture had been thrown around the room, walls punched and battered, random objects smashed and littering the ground. A broken piece of her heart jarred on the rest of the organ, reverberating through her being as she realised what has caused this damage, or more specifically who.

The weight of the realisation crashed down on her. The force of it knocking her to the ground. The pretty girl sunk to her knees on the old carpet, her shoulders wracked with sobs as the physical proof of Jughead's own pain and torment enshrined itself in her being; she was partly to blame for the damage and that hurt, but what hurt more was the part of her soul that was connected to his in such an intricate way that his emotions echoed through her.

Her tears came freely now, unable to be restrained as her gut wrenched and her chest ached. She clutched at the ground, the carpet scratching the scars on her palms, but she paid no mind. All she could do was cry. Her tears fell to the floor, dampening the crime scene as the crime scene inside of her freed itself.

Her entire body shook as she became hysterical.

After what felt like hours it stopped. Her chest heaved as she panted for breath trying to catch the oxygen in her lips and calm herself. The ache was still there but she felt slightly more stable now. Pushing off the ground the dishevelled girl rested back on her heels. Her eyes darted around the room as if to ensure her surroundings. She was at a loss. she didn't know where he could be. She didn't know if he was safe. It was terrifying. She didn't care if all he did was yell at her she just needed to be with him.

She let out a sigh- it was a mismatched combination of irritated and defeated. Her hand came up to wipe beneath her eyes. She was sure she looked a mess, makeup smudged and hair all over the place but she couldn't find the decency to care. She bowed her head again as the images of his disappointed and entirely distraught face flashed through her mind. His words playing on repeat. His tone biting and sad; it was a dialect she never wanted to hear from him again, she never wanted to be the cause of again.

" **To think I was gonna pass on moving to Toledo with my family for** _ **you."**_

That's what he was going to talk to her about after the dance. She knew it. And on any other day it would've have filled her with an all-consuming sense of giddiness.

But not tonight.

Tonight it ate her up and tore her apart. Because he was making good on their promise to open up and to talk and communicate, while she fucked up again. While she tread on his heart again. God she hated herself.

She hated herself for playing part in his undoing. She hated herself for not being there now to guide him through it. She hated that he probably felt abandoned and didn't know her love had carried her through the night for him, because she would _never_ abandon him.

She hated herself because over the past few months they had become each other's everything. They had broken down walls, and built new ones together. They had bared their souls and healed old wounds. They had supported and trusted and mended. They had fallen in love. And that was enough for him. She was enough. She was everything. It sounded narcissistic sure, but he was willing to give up the one thing he wanted more than anything- his family- for her. He put so much faith and trust in her and them and she had gone and ruined it. She had given him reason to doubt that, no matter how noble her intention to protect him was. Because the truth was she had been ignorant to ignore the façade happening around them and she _should've_ warned him.

The crumpled half of the sleuthing duo let out another frustrated sound as she ran her hands through her hair again, tugging the clip free from the strands and throwing it to the floor in a measured act of aggression. It seemed so insignificant juxtaposed against the mess he had created in his own rage. But it was stark against the dull tones of the carpet and furniture, glinting in the light and making itself known none-the-less.

The words continued on playing, the images continued on tormenting.

Then suddenly something inside her brain clicked.

Toledo.

She froze. Every muscle still as her head whirled with the realisation. Betty clambered to her feet so quickly the room span. She was hardly impeded though, rushing out the small trailer and practically tripping down the steps.

She knew where he was.

The hope flickered once again, although this time it was more like a burning wild fire. Because she _knew_ she was right. The part of them that was inextricably linked was telling her so.

* * *

She all but sprinted to the bus station. Her legs felt weak and her feet ached as they hit the snowy pavement. Her heels were abandoned at the trailer, she needed to get to him as fast as she could there was no time to spare and uncomfortable footwear was chosen to be foregone in such an endeavour.

Her lungs burned at the physical exertion and her hair whipped in the breeze. Her skin was cold and she was pretty sure her fingers were numb, but none of it mattered. All she could think was him.

After what felt like an eternity but was truly the fastest run she had ever managed in her young life, she arrived at the station. The old analogue clock told her it was 3am.

She scanned the mostly deserted area frantically. She was sure she must have looked like a crazy mess to any passer-by. It was all irrelevant though as long as she found him.

Something in her core flared, as though her soul was a beacon for his and could sense its presence. The flames of hope roared again and this time she made no attempt to quell him.

Glancing around again, her eye caught on a dark shape. Moving her eyes back, what was left of her heart stuttered violently in her chest. There in the old phone booth, looking exhausted and down trodden was the boy she had been obsessing over all night.

She exhaled slowly, relief washing over her like an inescapable wave. She took a tentative step forward suddenly unsure of how to proceed. Betty knew he needed her, knew she needed to explain, but it was not such a simple execution. Jughead placed the phone back on the receiver, before reaching down to grab his bag. A sharp pain shot through her at the sudden proof of how close she was to losing him. Her legs threatened to give out.

He looked up. Their eyes met.

Intensity was nothing new for the two of them, having shared many passionate and heavy glances in the past. This was different though.

When her green met with his blue time halted around them.

Jughead felt the air get stuck in his lungs at the sight of her. To anyone else she may have looked a mess, standing under the tin shelter of the bus station looking so terribly out of place. The blonde locks he loved so much were tangled and dishevelled, her makeup was smudged and tear tracks were pronounced in the debris, her dress was wrinkled and marred with dirt, both her feet and her eyes bare. She had never looked more beautiful to him, illuminated by the glow of the moon, easily slipping into the role of the light in the dark ebony night.

It was ironic really. Almost comically so that even in all of the darkness that had just unfolded she managed to show up shrouded in light. Even when she was attributing to the cause of his gut wrenching pain, she was the solace he desperately needed.

Betty nervously tucked a golden lock behind her ear, standing steady and waiting for him to come to her. Moments later he did.

Jughead reached up to adjust his beanie slightly before stepping out of the phone booth. His heart beat was erratic as his mind conjured up the reason for her showing up here, as the implication that she had been searching for him, wanting him, settled. It was terrifying being valued like that, and it was all he ever wanted. He despised her for a brief second. He despised her for proving to him that she was worth giving everything up for. For proving to him that she cared, that she knew him, that she wasn't going to leave him, not even when everything was so royally fucked up and she knew she was partly to blame.

Everything died away. The wind seemed to stop, the cold dissipated, the purring of the buses engine fading out.

It was just them.

They stood maybe ten feet apart and Betty felt like the gap was almost impossible to cross, but she was nothing if not stubborn and she was sure as hell not going to let a mere ten feet tear them apart for good. She yearned to be right in front of him, cupping his face or gripping his hands, but she knew he wasn't ready yet, she knew she had to proceed carefully. He stood watching her, waiting.

He was looking at her like she was his biggest fear and greatest comfort all at once. The conflict was rife on his usually apathetic face and the thought that they had torn him down so entirely that he had no energy for defences scared her a little.

"You're leaving." It was a statement, not a question.

He nodded slowly, just once.

"Juggie," she whispered, his name sounding broken on her lips and hitting him with the force of her own sadness. It threw him off balance and he flailed desperately to keep a hold of his resolve.

"There's too much pain here," he returned, and the both their cracks splintered a little more at the recognition of how true that was.

"You can't."

Jughead opened his mouth to protest, not wanting to hear a speech about how sorry she was, because he knew that already, he did, deep down. And he knew that if he let her talk, he would never get on that bus.

"Your Dad's being framed." It was louder this time, direct.

Jughead stilled. His head beginning to fog, with all the connotations that accompanied her words. He was losing his grip, his stomach churned, his chest ached.

"What?" he eventually got out in a voice that sounded much too vulnerable and unsure to be his own.

"Your dad, he's being framed." She studied him carefully, looking for any immediate signs of distress or spiralling. What she saw though was the boy who had been so strong and sure so many times for the both of them looking lost, exhausted, confused and stunned. She waited.

"Framed…" he whispered the word, barely audible and catching in his throat.

Betty nodded while still gently imploring him with her eyes.

"The gun the police found- the one that killed Jason- it wasn't there when-" she paused, swallowing the distain and vile down as she fought to stay composed, "it wasn't there when Veronica and Archie were." The words hung between them in the air, and Jughead's eyes widened as he took them in.

He began pacing back and forth slightly, suddenly feeling even more helpless and angry and unsure as he had mere minutes ago. He didn't know what to think or do. And he definitely didn't want to know how many more times the world as he knew it could be swept out from under him in one evening, and more so, in one lifetime.

Betty waited again, letting him process and carefully assessing his movements. Eventually he paused, his body turned to the side so they weren't facing each other anymore. His head was down and his eyes were closed. She fisted her dress again to stop from reaching for him. The next words she articulated could not be contained though.

"Jughead, I'm sorry for everything, for your dad, for not telling you about my mum, for betraying your trust like that. God I'm so sorry. I should've told you as soon as I suspected what my mum was up to. But I let her manipulate me into believing we could be civil. And you were so excited and I just… I just wanted to be able to give you one night of something good, of happiness," his head was raised now, eyes open but he still hadn't turned to her. He was listening intently though, hanging on every word as the distressed syllables left her beautiful lips.

"But I _promise_ you I had no idea what Archie and Veronica were doing, I only worked it out when I saw them talking to my mum. And I should've told you right then and I'm so sorry that I didn't. I just wanted to protect you and I know that wasn't my call to make and it was so incredibly stupid. And Jug it _was_ enough for me when you told me you believed him and I _believe_ you. And I wouldn't blame you if you never trust me again, and I'll understand if you get on that bus and go to Toledo but I need you to know that I love you. And you are everything to me."

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. Her chest was heaving as her breath came out in pants after her speech. Each word had become more achingly pleading and strong, pulling him back into her. It still stung, but he knew she was being honest and he could see the guilt and remorse written all over her. He could see the hell she'd been through to get here, to get to him. And that word, _love_ , coming from Betty's mouth directed at him, titled his whole world on another axis. The volumes it spoke easily crossed the divide between them, crashing into him and impaling him straight through. Time froze all over again as he stared at her. Her green eyes were determined and vulnerable, her gaze soft though. The emotion, the love, it was palpable through everything else, rising through the pain and heart break and despair to settle over them. It made him ache all over again for her, because nothing could have prepared him for this, for them, for love. It was all he'd ever wanted and she was offering it to him, putting it all on the line for him to choose or deny, to take or reject. Letting him see her own devotion and faith, her own despair for him.

"Did you just?" He whispered, thrown and floored. Betty nodded. Not taking her eyes off his as she slowly and deliberately repeated her words.

"I love you Jughead Jones."

And just like that the damn broke. He could no longer resist the gravitational pull he felt toward her, crossing the ten feet between them with an unmatched haste, gripping her cheeks in his large hands and crushing his mouth down upon hers. She returned the kiss with equal vigour, their lips slanting over one another's in a desperate embrace. It was passionate in a completely unchartered way. It was filled with pain and sorrow and heartache and despair, but in the beautiful way only love could taint such emotions with. It was forgiveness and promises, fears and atonement, relief and hope. The intensity rose in the air around them, as her hands gripped his lapels in a fierce hold, her lips returning his bruising pressure and letting her heart find home again as it locked into place with his; each of their broken shards aligning and filling gaps in a way no one else ever could.

When they broke apart his thumbs stroked her cheeks and their foreheads stayed resting on each other. Her eyes were closed and he took a moment to admire her beauty. Dark lashes contrasting pale skin and a small, fleeting smile, lifting the corner of her full lips.

"I love you too," he spoke gently against her mouth, moulding his lips around hers yet again in a tender kiss. Her heart fluttered at the admission and her hands ran up the expanse of his chest and over his shoulders before linking behind his neck, drawing him in further.

"Don't go," she breathed, pleading and delicate. As her eyes opened she was met with a purely soft expression on his face, eyes shining as they adored her.

"I'm not strong enough to leave you," was his reply, voice raw and thick with emotion. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear delicately before moving his hands down to her waist. Betty sighed before resting her head on his shoulder.

They stayed like that, unmoving as the night continued on around them, content for a second to just revel in each other's company, to be grateful that they hadn't lost this beautifully real thing in the midst of the chaos.


End file.
